Cold-rolled flat products Current Affairs

The Union Finance Ministry (Department of Revenue) has imposed anti-dumping duty on some cold-rolled flat products of stainless steel from China, United States, South Korea and European Union to curb the influx of cheaper imports and help local producers. The duty will be in effect till December 2020 and exempts certain grades of stainless steel. However, government has allowed import of product as long as end use of the import is in same form.

Earlier in October 2017, Government had imposed anti-dumping duty on import of some flat steel products from China and EU for five years. In September 2017, Government had imposed additional 18.95% countervailing duty on some hot-rolled and cold-rolled stainless steel flat products, a first such levy on a steel product.

Anti-dumping Duty

Anti-dumping measures are taken by Government to ensure fair trade and provide level-playing field to domestic industry. They are not measure to restrict imports or cause unjustified increase in cost of products. Countries initiate anti-dumping probes to determine if domestic industry has been hurt by surge in below-cost imports. As a counter-measure, they impose antidumping duties under multilateral WTO regime. In India, it is recommended by Commerce Ministry’s Directorate General of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD) and imposed by Finance Ministry.